Joseph's Brothers Return to Egypt with Benjamin

¹The famine in Canaan got worse,

²and when the family of Jacob had eaten all the grain which had been brought from Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Go back and buy a little food for us.”

³Judah said to him, “The man sternly warned us that we would not be admitted to his presence unless we had our brother with us.

⁴If you are willing to send our brother with us, we will go and buy food for you.

⁵If you are not willing, we will not go, because the man told us we would not be admitted to his presence unless our brother was with us.”

⁶Jacob said, “Why did you cause me so much trouble by telling the man that you had another brother?”

⁷They answered, “The man kept asking about us and our family, ‘Is your father still living? Do you have another brother?’ We had to answer his questions. How could we know that he would tell us to bring our brother with us?”

⁸Judah said to his father, “Send the boy with me, and we will leave at once. Then none of us will starve to death.

⁹I will pledge my own life, and you can hold me responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you safe and sound, I will always bear the blame.

¹⁰If we had not waited so long, we could have been there and back twice by now.”

¹¹Their father said to them, “If that is how it has to be, then take the best products of the land in your packs as a present for the governor: a little resin, a little honey, spices, pistachio nuts, and almonds.

¹²Take with you also twice as much money, because you must take back the money that was returned in the top of your sacks. Maybe it was a mistake.

¹³Take your brother and return at once.

¹⁴May Almighty God cause the man to have pity on you, so that he will give Benjamin and your other brother back to you. As for me, if I must lose my children, I must lose them.”

¹⁵So the brothers took the gifts and twice as much money, and set out for Egypt with Benjamin. There they presented themselves to Joseph.

¹⁶When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the servant in charge of his house, “Take these men to my house. They are going to eat with me at noon, so kill an animal and prepare it.”

¹⁷The servant did as he was commanded and took the brothers to Joseph's house.

¹⁸As they were being brought to the house, they were afraid and thought, “We are being brought here because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time. They will suddenly attack us, take our donkeys, and make us his slaves.”

¹⁹So at the door of the house, they said to the servant in charge,

²⁰“If you please, sir, we came here once before to buy food.

²¹When we set up camp on the way home, we opened our sacks, and each man found his money in the top of his sack—every bit of it. We have brought it back to you.

²²We have also brought some more money with us to buy more food. We do not know who put our money back in our sacks.”

²³The servant said, “Don't worry. Don't be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, must have put the money in your sacks for you. I received your payment.” Then he brought Simeon to them.

²⁴The servant took the brothers into the house. He gave them water so that they could wash their feet, and he fed their donkeys.

²⁵They got their gifts ready to present to Joseph when he arrived at noon, because they had been told that they were to eat with him.

²⁶When Joseph got home, they took the gifts into the house to him and bowed down to the ground before him.

²⁷He asked about their health and then said, “You told me about your old father—how is he? Is he still alive and well?”

²⁸They answered, “Your humble servant, our father, is still alive and well.” And they knelt and bowed down before him.

²⁹When Joseph saw his brother Benjamin, he said, “So this is your youngest brother, the one you told me about. God bless you, my son.”

³⁰Then Joseph left suddenly, because his heart was full of tender feelings for his brother. He was about to break down, so he went to his room and cried.

³¹After he had washed his face, he came out, and controlling himself, he ordered the meal to be served.

³²Joseph was served at one table and his brothers at another. The Egyptians who were eating there were served separately, because they considered it beneath their dignity to eat with Hebrews.

³³The brothers had been seated at the table, facing Joseph, in the order of their age from the oldest to the youngest. When they saw how they had been seated, they looked at one another in amazement.

³⁴Food was served to them from Joseph's table, and Benjamin was served five times as much as the rest of them. So they ate and drank with Joseph until they were drunk.

The Missing Cup

¹Joseph commanded the servant in charge of his house, “Fill the men's sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man's money in the top of his sack.

²Put my silver cup in the top of the youngest brother's sack, together with the money for his grain.” He did as he was told.

³Early in the morning the brothers were sent on their way with their donkeys.

⁴When they had gone only a short distance from the city, Joseph said to the servant in charge of his house, “Hurry after those men. When you catch up with them, ask them, ‘Why have you paid back evil for good?

⁵Why did you steal my master's silver cup? It is the one he drinks from, the one he uses for divination. You have committed a serious crime!’”

⁶When the servant caught up with them, he repeated these words.

⁷They answered him, “What do you mean, sir, by talking like this? We swear that we have done no such thing.

⁸You know that we brought back to you from the land of Canaan the money we found in the top of our sacks. Why then should we steal silver or gold from your master's house?

⁹Sir, if any one of us is found to have it, he will be put to death, and the rest of us will become your slaves.”

¹⁰He said, “I agree; but only the one who has taken the cup will become my slave, and the rest of you can go free.”

¹¹So they quickly lowered their sacks to the ground, and each man opened his sack.

¹²Joseph's servant searched carefully, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.

¹³The brothers tore their clothes in sorrow, loaded their donkeys, and returned to the city.

¹⁴When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, he was still there. They bowed down before him,

¹⁵and Joseph said, “What have you done? Didn't you know that a man in my position could find you out by practicing divination?”

¹⁶“What can we say to you, sir?” Judah answered. “How can we argue? How can we clear ourselves? God has uncovered our guilt. All of us are now your slaves and not just the one with whom the cup was found.”

¹⁷Joseph said, “Oh, no! I would never do that! Only the one who had the cup will be my slave. The rest of you may go back safe and sound to your father.”

Judah Pleads for Benjamin

¹⁸Judah went up to Joseph and said, “Please, sir, allow me to speak with you freely. Don't be angry with me; you are like the king himself.

¹⁹Sir, you asked us, ‘Do you have a father or another brother?’

²⁰We answered, ‘We have a father who is old and a younger brother, born to him in his old age. The boy's brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother's children still alive; his father loves him very much.’

²¹Sir, you told us to bring him here, so that you could see him,

²²and we answered that the boy could not leave his father; if he did, his father would die.

²³Then you said, ‘You will not be admitted to my presence again unless your youngest brother comes with you.’

²⁴“When we went back to our father, we told him what you had said.

²⁵Then he told us to return and buy a little food.

²⁶We answered, ‘We cannot go; we will not be admitted to the man's presence unless our youngest brother is with us. We can go only if our youngest brother goes also.’

²⁷Our father said to us, ‘You know that my wife Rachel bore me only two sons.

²⁸One of them has already left me. He must have been torn to pieces by wild animals, because I have not seen him since he left.

²⁹If you take this one from me now and something happens to him, the sorrow you would cause me would kill me, as old as I am.’

^30-31“And now, sir,” Judah continued, “if I go back to my father without the boy, as soon as he sees that the boy is not with me, he will die. His life is wrapped up with the life of the boy, and he is so old that the sorrow we would cause him would kill him.

³²What is more, I pledged my life to my father for the boy. I told him that if I did not bring the boy back to him, I would bear the blame all my life.

³³And now, sir, I will stay here as your slave in place of the boy; let him go back with his brothers.

³⁴How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I cannot bear to see this disaster come upon my father.”

^1-2It is not right, Job, for you to say that you are innocent in God's sight,

³or to ask God, “How does my sin affect you? What have I gained by not sinning?”

⁴I am going to answer you and your friends too.

⁵Look at the sky! See how high the clouds are!

⁶If you sin, that does no harm to God. If you do wrong many times, does that affect him?

⁷Do you help God by being so righteous? There is nothing God needs from you.

⁸Others suffer from your sins, and the good you do helps them.

⁹When people are oppressed, they groan; they cry for someone to save them.

¹⁰But they don't turn to God, their Creator, who gives them hope in their darkest hours.

¹¹They don't turn to God, who makes us wise, wiser than any animal or bird.

¹²They cry for help, but God doesn't answer, for they are proud and evil.

¹³It is useless for them to cry out; Almighty God does not see or hear them.

¹⁴Job, you say you can't see God; but wait patiently—your case is before him.

¹⁵You think that God does not punish, that he pays little attention to sin.

¹⁶It is useless for you to go on talking; it is clear you don't know what you are saying.

^1-2Be patient and listen a little longer to what I am saying on God's behalf.

³My knowledge is wide; I will use what I know to show that God, my Creator, is just.

⁴Nothing I say to you is false; you see before you a truly wise man.

⁵How strong God is! He despises no one; there is nothing he doesn't understand.

⁶He does not let sinners live on, and he always treats the poor with justice.

⁷He protects those who are righteous; he allows them to rule like kings and lets them be honored forever.

⁸But if people are bound in chains, suffering for what they have done,

⁹God shows them their sins and their pride.

¹⁰He makes them listen to his warning to turn away from evil.

¹¹If they obey God and serve him, they live out their lives in peace and prosperity.

¹²But if not, they will die in ignorance and cross the stream into the world of the dead.

¹³Those who are godless keep on being angry, and even when punished, they don't pray for help.

¹⁴They die while they are still young, worn out by a life of disgrace.

¹⁵But God teaches people through suffering and uses distress to open their eyes.

¹⁶God brought you out of trouble, and let you enjoy security; your table was piled high with food.

¹⁷But now you are being punished as you deserve.

¹⁸Be careful not to let bribes deceive you, or riches lead you astray.

¹⁹It will do you no good to cry out for help; all your strength can't help you now.

²⁰Don't wish for night to come, the time when nations will perish.

²¹Be careful not to turn to evil; your suffering was sent to keep you from it.

²²Remember how great is God's power; he is the greatest teacher of all.

²³No one can tell God what to do or accuse him of doing evil.

²⁴He has always been praised for what he does; you also must praise him.

²⁵Everyone has seen what he has done; but we can only watch from a distance.

²⁶We cannot fully know his greatness or count the number of his years.

²⁷It is God who takes water from the earth and turns it into drops of rain.

²⁸He lets the rain pour from the clouds in showers for all human beings.

²⁹No one knows how the clouds move or how the thunder roars through the sky, where God dwells.

³⁰He sends lightning through all the sky, but the depths of the sea remain dark.

³¹This is how he feeds the people and provides an abundance of food.

³²He seizes the lightning with his hands and commands it to hit the mark.

³³Thunder announces the approaching storm, and the cattle know it is coming.

¹⁰Listen to me, my child. Take seriously what I am telling you, and you will live a long life.

¹¹I have taught you wisdom and the right way to live.

¹²Nothing will stand in your way if you walk wisely, and you will not stumble when you run.

¹³Always remember what you have learned. Your education is your life—guard it well.

¹⁴Do not go where evil people go. Do not follow the example of the wicked.

¹⁵Don't do it! Keep away from evil! Refuse it and go on your way.

¹⁶Wicked people cannot sleep unless they have done something wrong. They lie awake unless they have hurt someone.

¹⁷Wickedness and violence are like food and drink to them.

¹⁸The road the righteous travel is like the sunrise, getting brighter and brighter until daylight has come.

¹⁹The road of the wicked, however, is dark as night. They fall, but cannot see what they have stumbled over.